


Koi Yo Nokan

by esmereldagrace



Category: As the World Turns
Genre: Alternate Universe, Eventual Romance, Feels, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-23
Updated: 2014-02-23
Packaged: 2018-01-13 13:45:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1228609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/esmereldagrace/pseuds/esmereldagrace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dr. Oliver's eyes widen dramatically, playfully and flirtatiously. He's gay, no doubt about it, and Luke is sure that Dr. Oliver knows that he is, too. “You’ve imagined things about me?”</p>
<p>A blush spreads across Luke’s cheeks and he tries as hard as he can to hide it. “Yeah, but sadly not in the way you think.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Koi Yo Nokan

**Author's Note:**

> Over on LRO a while back, **aljc100** put up a couple of relationship words that had no equivalent meaning in English from [this website](http://bigthink.com/harpys-review/the-top-10-relationship-words-that-arent-translatable-into-english) and set the challenge to write a fic for one of them…so I did. :D
> 
> I chose the word **‘Koi Yo Nokan’** (a Japanese word) which is described as this: _The sense upon first meeting a person that the two of you are going to fall in love. This is different than “love at first sight”, since it implies that you might have a sense of imminent love, somewhere down the road, without yet feeling it. The term captures the intimation of inevitable love in the future, rather than the instant attraction implied by love at first sight._
> 
> This is an AU and is unbeta-ed so all mistakes are mine. I do hope the fic fits with that beautiful word in some way. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy and thank you for reading! ♥

"Dr. Oliver, you are unbelievable."

"Wait a minute, do you think you could spend any more time with that man? I saw you cringing away from him and I can barely tolerate him back in Dallas. A small lie won’t harm anyone."

Luke laughs, so very amused. “Channing isn’t that bad, I mean he—”

"No, just stop right there—just stop, you have no idea what he’s like. Even a deli slicer could do a better job than him." 

Luke laughs out louder this time and quirks an eyebrow the other man’s way. “And I’m supposed to trust your judgement?”

Dr. Oliver nods easily. “Let’s just say I’m always right. Channing will be roaming around at this fundraiser looking for a woman who wants a one night stand with him, a woman who doesn’t exist. The man thinks with his dick. If he can ruin my life, I can ruin one night of his.” 

"What are you going to do when he finds out you lied?"

"His pride won’t allow him to admit he’d been fooled. He’ll make some kind of excuse, believe me."

Luke takes a sip of his water and bites back a smile. “And I’m supposed to believe someone who I only met two hours ago? I’ve heard things about you too, Dr. Oliver.”

"I’m guessing they’re all wonderful things," Dr. Oliver says with a smirk.

Luke nods, a smile taking over his face. “Yeah, definitely the good things, nothing bad at all.”

Dr. Oliver's smirk grows into a smile and a chuckle slips past his lips. “Well, that’s a first.”

So is this.

Coming to fundraisers was a part of Luke’s job ever since he ran his own foundation, and it was something that he enjoyed doing. It was a way to network, to make contacts, to make sure that any projects that hadn’t been given the attention they needed were tended to by him. And of course, donating what he could for the cause the fundraiser had been held for. Sure they were glitzy and glamorous affairs, but in the end, what mattered was that all the money raised was for a good cause.

Luke mingled with everyone, held polite and succinct conversations, taking their business cards and giving his own, the same conversation starters and discussions, the same introductions having to be repeated over and over and _over_ again.

Okay. So it wasn’t the most fun he had, especially since he had no one to go with, but he got through the evenings being the good people person he was.

It had been a while since he’d been back in New York however, and it had been the American Brain Tumour Association that had brought him here. Many doctors had flown in to represent their hospital, as had philanthropists and also those who had gone through the plight of a brain tumour, those who had survived to tell the tale.

Luke had come alone,  _again_ , but he had ended up finding a few familiar faces who eased his boredom a little. But not by much.

Then he’d been introduced to Dr. Reid Oliver, the arrogant but great neurosurgeon who was a genius in every sense of the word and his evening gotten a whole lot better. Luke might've read up about who would be coming to the fundraiser and this was someone he’d been fascinated about, someone who he had eagerly wanted to meet. He’d heard and read all sorts of things about him, but Luke could tell from their first handshake, from the first time his skin touched his, from the first time that their eyes met, that the things that he’d heard about Dr. Oliver were just a small part of him, not all of him.

Their easy banter (and the small lie) had meant that they’d ended up blissfully alone by the bar, talking in depth about what each of their jobs entailed. The flash of surprise and then the impressed look in Dr. Oliver’s eyes when he’d asked about his research projects sent a thrill down Luke’s spine. He might be young but he knew his stuff.

They moved onto talk about themselves outside of their jobs and Luke was surprised to find out how funny Dr. Oliver was and how much deserved contempt he held for his colleague, too. It only served to make the man look more human than the superhuman everyone thought he was. Luke had never gotten along with anyone so well before and because of that, he hadn’t even felt like talking to anyone else all evening.

This was different. But a good different.

Hummingbirds flutter in his stomach involuntarily, and he beams Dr. Oliver’s way, not quite managing to pinpoint what it is that he’s feeling. “There’s a first for everything, Dr. Oliver. Despite all that I’ve heard, you’re not like anything I imagined you would be.”

Dr. Oliver's eyes widen dramatically, playfully and flirtatiously. He's gay, no doubt about it, and Luke is sure that Dr. Oliver knows that he is, too. “You’ve imagined things about me?”

A blush spreads across Luke’s cheeks and he tries as hard as he can to hide it. “Yeah, but sadly not in the way you think.”

"Shame," Dr. Oliver throws back with a smile and finishes off the last of his wine, his eyes looking over at the crowds in the dimly lit room. “I have to be honest here, it’s been refreshing to meet someone who knows what they’re talking about without trying to suck up to me."

Luke huffs out a laugh. “I’ll take that as a compliment, shall I?”

"Definitely a compliment." Dr. Oliver puts his wine glass back onto the bar and loosens his tie. “You want to get out of here?"

"What?" If that question didn’t make Luke’s heart skip a beat, he was lying.

"I mean," Dr. Oliver clarifies with a knowing smile, his bright blue eyes sparkling, “outside to get some fresh air in the gardens back there. I can’t stand this tie and I don’t have the patience to talk to anyone else."

"Oh, " Luke stutters out, utterly embarrassed his mind went  _there_. “Sure, I could do with some air.”

Dr. Oliver leads the way and Luke follows, quickly finishing his glass of water first before making his way out into the open air. The music was now only a distant drone now, and the summer air enveloping them was warm but not too hot. The sweet smell of jasmine was permeating through the air and the fairy lights prettily strung up in the trees were the only source of light in the garden. Luke watches as Dr. Oliver loosens his tie even further as well as unbuttoning his top shirt button. He shrugs off his suit jacket, too and lays it over the back of the bench.

"I hate having to dress up for these events," Dr. Oliver comments absently as he unbuttons his cuffs and rolls his sleeves up to reveal tanned forearms. A clunky wristwatch adorns one wrist and the other wrist has a piece of red and yellow string knotted around it. “It’s not my thing."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because I got blackmailed into it," he grumbles.

"What do you mean?" Luke asks, curiously.

Dr. Oliver shakes his head ruefully, sitting himself down on the wooden bench, hands scrubbing over his auburn curls and gestures to the empty space next to him for Luke. “That’s not something you need to know.”

Luke chuckles lightly and sits down next to him with a soft sigh. “Alright, I won’t ask, I promise.”

He breathes out a slow breath and tilts his head backwards to look up at the starry night. The skies are clear, dark midnight black, stars twinkling brightly and making themselves known from miles and miles away, and Luke swears he hasn’t seen a more beautiful night. The even breaths of the man sat next to him calm him in a way that nothing had calmed him in a while. It’s a comfortable but rare silence which Luke relishes in.

“You don’t like coming here much either, do you?”

That snaps Luke out of his daze and he frowns Dr. Oliver’s way who is gazing right back at him. “What?”

“To these fundraisers and glitzy events," he clarifies, "they aren’t something you enjoy either. I can tell.”

Luke snorts out a laugh. “You can  _tell_?”

“Yes,” Dr. Oliver nods confidently.

"Let's hear it then," Luke says, a challenge embedded in the words.

Dr. Oliver takes a breath before he speaks. “Your smile," he starts, "it doesn’t ever reach your eyes. When you listen to people, you seem interested in what they have to say but when you talk, it sounds like something you’ve said by rote a million times. You convince yourself somehow that this is good and fun and important, when you know that you could so easily send someone else in your place.”

Dr. Oliver narrows his eyes, amusement dropping from his face, now looking serious. “What are you running away from, Mr. Snyder?”

Luke feels like all the air has been punched out of his lungs and it takes a couple of seconds for his brain and heart and lungs to catch on, to get in synch again. How is this man able to read him so well? They’ve known each other for less than three hours. “Since when were you a psychiatrist, Dr. Oliver?” he manages to croak out quietly, still holding his gaze.

Dr. Oliver smiles, a corner of his lip turning upwards. “Running away again, Mr. Snyder? It’s not good for you.”

“I’m not,” Luke insists, before he relents and swallows around the lump in his throat. “Okay, maybe I am—but I signed up for this, so I have to carry on, right? It’s a distraction from… _things_.”

Dr. Oliver nods gently and breaks his gaze, looking out onto the garden. “You’re right, but don’t ever let that distraction make you forget how to live your own life, Mr. Snyder. I’m speaking from experience.”

“Are you running away from something, too, Dr. Oliver?” Luke blurts out, without thinking, regretting that he said it.

He laughs wryly, eyes on the grass. “Got it in one, I’m trying to. But like you said, I've signed up for this so I have to carry on, right?”

Luke nods uncertainly, wondering what it is that Dr. Oliver really could be running from. He had everything. Name, fame and success in his field, what was missing?

“Are you itching to move on?” Luke asks, unsure why that particular idea popped into his head. “Dallas isn’t enough for you now, is it? You feel like you’re stuck in one place and can’t find a way to get out?”

This time it’s Dr. Oliver who looks surprised that he’s been found out. Luke knows he’s right when he doesn’t say a word but instead looks away, far into the distance, deep in thought.

“I think,” Luke starts softly, eyes still on the man, mind whirring with ideas. “If you give me a day or two, I can draw up an escape plan.”

It takes a couple of seconds, but then Luke hears a laugh, and finally Dr. Oliver grins up at him, a grin that forms the most adorable crinkles around his eyes, his eyes full of an indescribable emotion.

“Seriously? You’re going to plan my great escape?”

Luke grins back and nods. “Yeah, I will—I promise I will.”

“But no tunnels, please—not a big fan of those.”

Luke salutes goofily his way. “Noted. There shall be no tunnels, but I can’t promise there won’t be a bit of a fight.”

“I’m not the kind of guy to shy away from a fight,” he retorts.

“Good,” Luke says before glancing down at his watch. It’s almost midnight and he doesn’t want leave, not just yet, but he sees Dr. Oliver yawn widely next to him and he doesn’t want to intrude on his time any longer.

And anyway, he has a great escape to plan.

“Can we meet up tomorrow?” Luke enquires, before he realises that he sounds so forward. “I mean—if you’re around and you want to. I don’t want to disturb you if you’re busy—”

“Mr. Snyder, it’s fine,” Dr. Oliver interrupts with a light laugh. “I’m here for another day and I’d rather not spend any spare time with Channing unless I have to. What did you have in mind?”

Luke lets out a breath of relief. “A late lunch and then maybe we can talk about your escape plan once I’ve made a few calls in the morning?”

“Sounds good—you had me at ‘late lunch’,” he tells him with a wide smile which makes Luke laugh shyly, but then takes his phone out of his pocket and swipes through until he finds his contacts list. “Can you add your number? I’ll send you a text to let you know when and where we could meet.”

Dr. Oliver wordlessly takes the phone from his hands and uses his nimble and elegant fingers to tap his number in, before passing the phone back to him. Luke double checks the number is there before slipping the phone back into his pocket.

“Thank you, Dr. Oliver.”

“No,” Dr. Oliver says, shaking his head. “Thank  _you_ , Mr. Snyder.”

Luke makes a face, shaking his own head. “Don’t call me that—it makes me sounds old, my name is Luke. Mr. Snyder is my father.”

“You allow everyone else to call you Mr. Snyder,” Dr. Oliver says, amused.

“Not everyone,” Luke answers with a small smile, heart beating a little harder and faster against his ribcage. “Not everyone.”

Their gazes lock for a long moment, his heart and mind warring with what this could possible mean, what _any_ of this means. Luke is the first to look away and prays to whatever higher power above that he isn’t blushing like a fool. “I-I think I’m going to head back to my hotel. I have some work to catch up on before I head to bed.”

Dr. Oliver checks the time and raises an eyebrow questioningly. “After midnight?”

Luke smiles indulgently. “I don’t just run a foundation, Dr. Oliver—I have a novel to finish and a deadline that’s creeping up on me.”

Dr. Oliver’s face morphs into a look of slight awe. “Wow, a man of many talents then.”

“Yes, indeed.” Luke forces himself up and onto his feet and holds out a hand for Dr. Oliver to shake.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Dr. Oliver grips his hand, the palms of their hands fitting perfectly together, and gives it a firm shake. “Yes, tomorrow.”

Dr. Oliver doesn’t look as if he’s going anywhere yet, so Luke throws him a bright grin and waves his goodbye. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he makes his way back inside, trying not to think about what just happened and why his mind is so muddled from meeting a man he hardly even knows.

“Why?”

That one question stops him from walking any further and he twists around, perplexed. Dr. Oliver is facing him, his own eyes blazing with confusion.

“Why, what?”

Dr. Oliver hesitates to say anything, mouth opening and closing, as if he’s trying to find the right words. “Why are you doing this for me? You don’t even know me,” he admits, his hand forming a fist that’s resting on the back of the bench, knuckles white.

Luke takes a couple of deep breaths, steadying his heart that’s wanting to beat right out of his chest. What is this? What could he even say when _he_ doesn’t even know? Things had been so easy with the man, easier than it had been with anyone that he’d ever met. But there is something there, something he couldn’t quite put words to. Maybe this is a burgeoning friendship, or maybe something more, but Luke didn’t want to put a label on it, not just yet.

“I think we need each other, in our own way, and this is me taking the initiative, grabbing the chance with both hands,” Luke pauses, licking his lips before his next truthful admission. “But most of all, I guess I care about you--even though I hardly know you.”

Luke hopes that Dr. Oliver doesn’t get the wrong impression from his words but if what he knows of the man is right, Luke is sure he won’t.

Dr. Oliver stares at him for long moment, the myriad of emotions flickering over his face hard to identify. “Why would you--,” he starts before shaking his head and smiling softly and sincerely instead. “Thank you, Luke.”

Luke pretends his breath doesn’t catch in his throat when he hears his name said in the rough cadence of Dr. Oliver’s voice. “You’re welcome. I’ll see you tomorrow. Dr. Oliver?”

“Definitely.”

Luke turns to walk away but stops again when he hears Dr. Oliver call out for him. “Oh and Luke,” Dr. Oliver adds. “Don’t call me that—it makes me feel old, my name is Reid. Dr. Oliver is my father.”

Luke almost bursts out laughing, realising that he’d thrown his own words back at him. “You allow everyone else to call you Dr. Oliver.” Luke can’t help but repeat Dr. Oliver’s earlier words, too.

“Not everyone,” he replies with a sly smile. “Not everyone.”

Luke laughs out loud and grins unabashedly. “Okay,  _Reid_ ,” and Luke notices that he smiles wider hearing his name. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Dr. Oliver, no,  _Reid_  goofily salutes his way and Luke forces his feet to move before he does something he will regret. Still smiling, Luke chuckles to himself and sends another wave Reid’s way trying so hard not to think about what just happened. 

Seriously though. _What just happened?_

This does not happen to Luke,  _ever_ , and as much as he wants to put a label to it, his heart won’t let him.

Maybe this is the start of something new, a start of something special.

But he is sure about one thing.

This isn’t the last time he’ll see or talk to Reid. Not at all.                

 

 

 


End file.
